Kelly Preston and John Travolta attend the "The Last Song" premiere in Los Angeles

Kelly Preston , a cast member in the motion picture drama "The Last Song", attends the premiere of the film with her husband, actor John Travolta at the Arclight Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles on March 25, 2010. UPI/Jim Ruymen

Kelly Preston (born October 13, 1962) is an American actress and former model.

Preston was born as Kelly Kamalelehua Smith in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother, Linda, was an administrator of a mental health center, and her father, who worked for an agricultural firm, drowned when Preston was three years old. Her mother married Peter Palzis, a personnel director, who subsequently adopted her; she used his name when she began her acting career. Her stepfather was Lee Carlson. She has a younger maternal half-brother, Chris Palzis. As a child, she spent time living in Iraq and Australia. While living in Australia, she attended Pembroke School in Adelaide, South Australia. She later attended Punahou School and studied drama and theater at the University of Southern California.

While living in Australia, Preston was discovered at 16 by a fashion photographer who helped her get work in commercials and other small parts, which eventually developed into a successful movie career. Her first prominent role in a film came as "popular girl" in 1985's Secret Admirer opposite C. Thomas Howell, followed by a full-frontal nude scene in Mischief that same year.

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